Month: December 2022

Randy Rainbow last night (Dec. 2) concluded his months-long Pink Glasses tour at the Hawaii Theatre. And it was an effervescent, eclectic and entertaining evening.

Rainbow (his real name)  combines live singing with his famous pre-recorded YouTube videos targeting mostly bad-behaving folks in the political spectrum. Thus, his act is a blend of glowing stand-up comedy with charming crooning, with guffaws and slams at the naughtiness in the spectrum of politics.

Ten take-aways from the giddy fun:

1 – Rainbow lives up to his self-acclaimed hype as the queen of political parodies. He is undoubtedly gay to the max, and is proud and out and simply sells his brand with flair and finesse. He’s simultaneously witty and gritty and he eloquently and occasionally speaks French (f-bombs and s-words galore), delivered in the spirit of entertaining fun.

2 – He’s a clothes horse, trotting in wearing a handsome and glittering black tux, accessorized with a mammoth pink feather boa, with glittering pink shoes; he exited in a chic pink suit adored with his trademark pink eyeglasses. In-between, he changed outfits several times, including a pajama-like number with a flowing and matching silk-like robe.

3— A Broadway musical fan from small-kid time, he’s adopted many tunes from a roster of hit shows to hand-pick songs to suit his needling goals. Clearly, he’s the master of his craft, a brilliant lyricist with a knack to make each parody a mini-movie, complete with multiple voice-overs and choreography.

4 –Based on his numerous darts on Donald Trump, he likely helped Orangeface become the president. On his usual home front – the internet – Rainbow has been kingpin, demonstrating a keen representation of style, slams and silliness. Thus, weaving in his earlier clips was vital to complement his live show.

5—He’s quite a name-dropper, familiar with the political wizards as well as the snakes. The targets included Ivanka, Jared Kushner, Donald Jr., Giuliani, Hawley, et al.

6—He’s unafraid of working in words like vagina  and penis (in reflections of Trump’s infamous revelation of itchy fingers and size) in adult-aimed shots, and he also is precise in picking out specific truisms of politics, like his funny line about Mitch McConnell’s neck nearly swallowing his face, and Kellyanne Conway’s coining of her  incredible slogan, Alternative Truth. What dat?

7—In unreeling his parodies, Rainbow is a fierce multi-tasker — interpreter, lyricist, commentator, vocalist, educator. You may think he’s biased against the GOP, but his bits with Dr. Fauci and President Biden show he can geev ‘em to Democrats, too.

8 – He’s a smart pitchman; periodically, he paused to promote his biography and accessories (pink glasses, posters, etc.). Like a rock star or Broadway show, he knows that merchandising matters in bringing in moolah.

9—His brilliance is undeniable, delivered with joyous glee, in such segments like “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Korea” (from “The Sound of Music” dealing with Trump’s fondness of Kim Jong-Un) and “The Very Stable Genius” (based on “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” from “Pirates of Penzance”) questioning the leadership of the dubious MAGA leader.  Oh, and that visual of Vladimir Putin alongside the Trumpster was a howl — a Ritz cracker photo-shopped over the face of the ex-pres.

10 –He’s ready to run for president, or so he announced (with tongue in cheek) about an intended bid in anticipation of the Trumpster’s campaign to be on the ballot in 2024 (legal complications notwithstanding). Rainbow simply will be watching The Donald’s shenanigans to watch for material to resolve the drought of new clips while he’s been on tour…

And that’s Show Biz. …

Just in time for the Christmas holidays, a new, original musical about a dilemma facing Santa Claus, premieres at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Dec. 3) at Mamiya Theatre on the St. Louis School/Chaminade University campus.

Entitled “The Year Christmas Was Almost Cancelled,” the family-friendly show is produced by Mo‘olelo Studios with a pair of veteran local theater names — Kyle Kakuno and Roslyn Catracchia –collaborating artistically. He scripted the show and is directing, she composed the musical score featuring 10 songs.

“What if we wrote our own Christmas show?” Kakuno asked Catracchia during a phase of pandemic, when they had ample time to consult. “The script evolved over the last year, and the pandemic provided us time to meet and create the show, because everything (referring to the local stage shows) was shut down.”

“We wanted to bring something new and fun for the families this Christmas – especially after the cancellation of live events due to the pandemic over the past couple of years,” said Kakuno.

Catracchia agreed, “Hawaii needs something joyful and exciting. Kyle and I have been working together for over 30 years, so – after having no productions for the past two years – it’s been refreshing and a total blessing to be working on a brand-new holiday musical together for our island families.”

The story takes place in Santa’s workshop at the North Pole, where a sobering thought emerges: What if there is no Christmas?

Mrs. Claus is the first to recognize the possibility that there could be no Santa at Christmas, since he is ill and his doctor mandates three months of rest and recuperation.

The story themes resonate with elements of hope, faith, wellness, giving and the spirit of can-do. The underlying tone – if you become ill, there’s always the consideration that you refrain from doing things in your life — is not verbalized but implied and it’s a realistic message all should adopt.

Matthew Pedersen plays Santa; he is the lone Actor’s Equity union member in the cast and has Broadway creds, including “Miss Saigon.” Callie Doan is Mrs. Claus.

Kakuno, the drama honcho at St. Louis for two decades, has resigned from teaching but still is affiliated with Saint Louis and Sacred Hearts Academy, which have been the foundation for casting roles. The cast includes Poasa Aga, Isaiah Castillo, Christopher Casupang, La Tanya Faamausili- Siliato, Sanoe Harris, Ka’ulani Iaea, and Samuel Tafolo as Santa’s faithful elves. The actors range from fifth graders to high schoolers and collegians.

Kakuno and Catracchia also were artistic collaborators at Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and she is widely known as the composer for the late Lisa Matsumoto’s stable of pidgin-English musicals, which parodied fairy tale figures in a local-style retelling.

“It’s always terrifying when your work gets a public viewing for the first time,” said Kakuno. Some of his dialogue recurs in a few of Catracchia’s melodies. He said they both perused the script and she would say “I see a song here, a song there,” and thus was born the score.

Among the tunes to expect: “Sweet, Sweet Snow,” sung by Mrs. Claus to the man in red, and “Christmas Magic,” sung by the ensemble contemplating the notion that there would be no Christmas magic if there’s no Santa.

The show’s producer, Mo‘olelo Studios,  is a wing of KaiHonua Entertainment, which last year took over the operations of Mamiya Theatre, where Kakuno had a relationship for 22 years directing all of the school’s stage productions ranging from “In the Heights” to “Footloose.”

Kakuno said, “Long story short, the president of KaiHonua Entertainment is Kainoa Jarrett, a former student of mine and my stage manager over the years.” The company specializes in providing tech support in audio and lighting equipment. So the outsourcing of the theater continues to have links with the longtime director, who now is manager of Mamiya Theatre and artistic and managing director of KaiHonua.

Kakuno anticipates that the launch of ‘The Year Christmas Was Almost Cancelled” this season could be tweaked, edited and nurtured to possibly become a recurring holiday attraction in the future. Indeed, it could be the gift that keeps on giving during the Yuletide. …

*. *. *

“The Year Christmas Was Almost Cancelled”
Showtimes: 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 6 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 18.

Tickets: $20 for adults, $15 for students, at www.moolelostudios.com

Extras: After each performance, there will be entertainment, food and drinks including s’mores, hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies, Santa photo-shoots. and a snow and light show.

And that’s Show Biz. …

Scott Caan, who was Danno in the rebooted “Hawaii Five-0,” is one of the co-stars in Fox’s first responder drama, “Alert,” premiering Jan. 8, following an NFL game.

Its regular slot will be Mondays at 8 p.m., beginning Jan. 9.

Caan will portray Jason Grant, partnering with Dania Ramirez as Nikki Batista,  in the drama where minutes and time matter. The show will boast a tagline, “For the Missing Persons Unit, Every Second Counts.”

Thus, Caan the actor still will be a cop in the Missing Persons Unit with the Philadelphia Police Department.

While the procedural will explore hunts for missing kids and adults, a parallel thread will be part of the story, since Jason and Nikki’s quest to locate missing people includes an alert to discover a long-lost missing son of theirs.

Each episode on Fox will air the next day on Hulu…

The masquerade continues

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running Broadway musical ever, has postponed its planned Feb. 18 closure. Instead, the show – with that majestic chandelier and that mystical and magical masquerade scene –  has been extended to April 16 at the Majestic Theatre.

It’s not surprising, however, since the show has been attracting audiences with box office grosses like a new hit; some want to see the production one more time, others want to catch the real McCoy for the first time. When the throngs are recurring, and expanding, it would be madness to shut down operations.

Ben Crawford and Emilie Kouatchou are the Phantom and Christine, respectively, in the current cast. …

Broadway grosses, week ending Nov., 27

“The Lion King” roared into second place in the ranking of Broadway shows, for the week ending Nov. 27.

“King” logged $2.674 million, nudging “Hamilton” to the No. 3 slot, with $2.613 million.

No. 1, not surprisingly, continues to the “The Music Man,” with $2.865 million.

As mentioned above, “Phantom” with ts music of the night has upticked to $2.241 million, after announcing new closing dates, a skosh behind”Wicked,” with $2.320 million.

The listing is courtesy The Broadway League. …

And that’s Show Biz. …